Heel structure for high-heeled ladies&#39; footwears



A. ROTELLI May 31 1960 HEEL STRUCTURE FOR HIGH-HEELED LADIES FOOTWEARS Filed Sept. 23, 1957 INVENTOR. flW/M a flvhez" HEEL STRUCTURE FOR HIGH-HEELED LADIES FOOTWEARS Antonio Rotelli, 1 Via Vittorio Veneto, Morazzone Viscontl, Prov. di Varese, Italy Filed Sept. 23, 1957, Ser. No. 685,451

Claims priority, application Italy Sept. 26, 1956 3 Claims. ci. '36-'34) The present invention relates to shoes and more particularly the invention relates to ladies shoes utilizing high heels and the like.

The use of molded types of heel structures of resinous material with inserts is known in the art, but no known heel construction has been made to overcome the dif- States atent f ficulties encountered in producing high heels and heels drawings.

will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection, with the accompanying drawings, in which:

' Fig. 1 is an elevational, sectional side view with parts broken away to illustrate one form of the invention taken along the-line 1-1 of Fig. 2 in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 2 is a view taken along the line 2--2 of Fig. 1 in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 3 is an elevational, sectional view of a mould cavity wherein a structure as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 may be produced;

Fig. 4 is an elevational, sectional side view of a second form of the invention taken along the line 4--4 of Fig. 5 in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 5 is a view taken along the line 55 of Fig. 4 in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 66 of Fig. 4 in the direction of the arrows;

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown in Figs. l and 2 a layer'of molded resinous material 10 having an outwardly flared upper portion 11 and a thin lower portion 12. The upper portion 11 of the resinous material 10 has an inclined, concave surface 13 which is so shaped asto engage any suitablesole which is not shown in the The resinous material 10 can comprise a known mixture of polystyrol and synthetic rubber.

they make walking uncomfortable and tiring by being too rigid.

A further weakness that has existed in the heels of known construction is that they are easily removable from the sole due to the constant strain exerted during walking by the impact between the high heeland the ground. The inserts utilized in the heels of known construction are likewise deficient since they are easily detached from the heel structure and cannot withstand the strain exerted during walking by the impact of the high heel.

One object of the present invention is to provide a high heel which can be firmly fastened to the sole and which overcomes the forces tending to separate the high heel from the sole during normal walking.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a thin high heel which will not be permanently deformed or crack at its middle portion.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide inserts which are capable of having long nails or screws driven through the entire length of the insert.

A further object of the present invention is to provide high heel of limited flexibility and sturdy construction which will permit comfortable walking.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a strongly constructed high heel which is of simple construction and can be easily produced.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide inserts which cannot be detached from the heel.

With the above objects in view, the present invention includes a heel, for ladies high heeled shoes and the like, and including a heel body of resinous material. A rigid element irnbedded at one end of said heel body for providing attachment means for the heel body to be attached to a sole. Reinforcing means for the remainder of the heel body engages the rigid element so as to provide a substantially sturdy construction for the heel body.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The inventionitself, however, both as to its construction and-its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof,

A resilient lift 14 is removably connected to the bottom surface of the lower portion 12 of theresinous material 10 by means of a head 15 of a screw. The lift 14 can comprise rubber'alone or-it can be made of a synthetic material such as nylon. 7

Screw 16 is driven into a lower portion 17 of a rod 1-8. The rod 18 extends upwardly from its lower bottom surface which is flush with the bottom-surface of the lower portion 12' of the resinousmaterial 10 to :where an upper portion 19 of the rod 18 is located with a tight fit in a cavity in an upper insert 20. The cavity is closed at its upper end by a face 201 extending substantially normal to the longitudinal direction of the heel body and rod 18 has an end face abutting againstface 201 so that any vertical forces acting on insert 20 are transmitted to rod 18. The rod 18 may be made of wood or. of metal. Wood is preferred where excessive slenderness of the'heel is not desired since there would be less rigid-. ness and noise in walking. The upper portion 19 of rod 18 is driven into the cavity of the upper insert 20 and tightly seated therein. The upper insert 20 is shaped substantially as an inverted frustum and is made of wood and has a small portion 21 of an upper inclined surface 22 which is not covered by the upper portion 11 of the resinous layer 10 while the remaining and major portion of the upper face 22 is covered by the upper portion 11 of the resinous layer 10. g In this way the block 20 is permanently connected with the resinous material 10. i

tilted by injecting, according to the'kn owledge of the art of manufacture of molded articles, a thermoplastic" material into a cavity 30 of a die which already contains the upper insert 20 mounted. on the rod 18 in the respective positions in which both elements are located in the manufactured heel. The extreme pressure exerted on the upper insert 20 by the injected material in the cavity 30 will cause the wood fibers of the upper insert 20 to shrink to the reduced size shown by a dashed contour line 20' and thus stiffen the wood fibers. It is necessary therefore, to insert a larger size wooden block in cavity 30 than is actually needed to obtain the desired size for the upper insert 20. The reduced upper insert 20 is thus made sturdier and also the support from the resinous surrounding coating permits large size nails 3 or screws to be driven into the insert '20 through the portion 21 without the block cracking. The shrinking of the wood fibers permits the upper wooden insert 20 to tighten its grip on the upper portion 19 of the rod ;18.

,As is shown in Figs. 4, 5, and 6 an upper outwardly flared portion 40 of a resinous material, 41 has an imbedded wooden block 42. The wooden block 42 has a substantially vertical groove 43 located along the one side of the block 43. An upper portion -44ofa metal rod which is bent at 45 is held in place in groove 43 by the upper portion 40 of the resinous material 41. Groove 43 is bounded at one side by a. face43' extending inclined to the longitudinal directionofthe heel body and the upper portion 44 of the metal rod has a face abutting against face 43'. The metal rod has a vertical lower portion 46 which is surrounded by a lower portion 47 of the resinous material 41. Cavities 48 in the side face of block 42 permit the resinous material 41 to penetrate therein and improve the connection of the block 42 with the resinous material 41.

The bent portion 45 of the rod permits the metal rod to engage the wooden block 42 along the groove 43 and this permits long nails or long screws from the sole to be driven into the entire depth of the wooden block 42 without striking any metal. The upper portion 44 of the rod will not turn about its axis since it is at an angle from the remainder of the rod portion and the groove 43 of the block 42 will prevent the upper portion to turn about its axis. The block 42 is held firmly in place by the upper portion 40 of the resinous material 41. Therefore, turning of the rod will not occur when the lift hearing screw (corresponding to the screw 16 of Fig. l) is tightly driven into the rod or from pivoting on the lift when the heel is used on a ladies shoe.

Another advantage of the upper portion 44 being at an angle from the remainder of the rod as shown in Fig. 4 is that the upper portion 44 has limited flexibility which will give the heel structure some flexibility and will permit more comfort to the wearer while retaining its resistance to cracking or permanent deformity.

5115 will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together, may also find a useful application in other types of heels differing from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described or embodied in ladies heels, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can by applying current knowledge readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention and, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of the following claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A heel for ladies high heeled shoes and the like comprising, in combination, a heel body of resinous material; a rigid attaching element imbedded at one end of said heel body, said rigid element providing attachment means for said heel body to be attached to a sole; and reinforcing means reinforcing the remainder of said heel body and engaging said rigid element so as to provide a substantially sturdy construction for said heel, said reinforcing means being an elongated metal rod imbedded in said heel body and having an upper portion at an angle from a substantially straight lower portion which is axially aligned within said heel body, said upper portion being bent from said lower portion and said bend providing added axial resiliency for-said rod.

2. A heel for ladies high heeled shoes and the like comprising, in combination, a'heel body of resinous material; a rigid attaching element imbedded at one end of said heel body, said rigid element providing attachment means for said heel body to be attached to a sole; and reinforcing means reinforcing the remainder of said heel body and engaging said rigid element so as to provide a substantially sturdy construction for said heel, said reinforcing means being an elongated metal rod imbedded in said heel body and having an upper portion at an angle from a substantially straight lower portion which is axially aligned within said heel body, said upper portion being bent from said lower portion and said bend providing added axial resiliency for said rod, said rigid element being formed with a groove in which said upper portion of said rod is located.

3. A heel for ladies highheeled shoes and the like comprising, in combination, a heel body of resinous material; a block of wood of substantially frustum configuration imbedded at one end of said heel body for providing attachment means for said heel body to be 3t. tached to a sole, said block of wood substantially filling said one end and providing reinforcement for said one end of said heel body, said wooden block having a surface formed with at least one cavity in which is located a portion of the resinous material of said heel body so as to provide a secure connection between said heel body and said rigid element; an elongated metal rod imbedded in said heel body and having an upper portion at an angle from a substantially straight lower portion which is axially aligned within said heel body, said upper portion being bent from said lower portion and said bend providing added axial resiliency for said rod, said rigid element being formed with a groove in which said upper portion of said rod is located; and a resilient lift operatively connected to said rod.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,411,264 Berger Apr. 4, 1922 1,952,330 Miller et al Mar. '27, 1934 FOREIGN PATENTS 367,233 Italy Jan. 19, 1939 1,131,245 France Oct. 15, 1956 OTHER REFERENCES American Shoemaking publication, Aug. 3, 1955, (page 16, vol. 236, No. 5). 

